“Stan The Man” Wawrinka will begin the last tournament of his career with a difficult first-round match against Jiri Lehecka today. Will it be the last time we see the Swiss legend on tour? The 41-year-old trained with Djokovic on Sunday and was honored for an hour on center court on Monday in an emotional ceremony.
Here’s a preview for Stan Wawrinka vs. Jiri Lehecka at the ATP Basel tournament, with our predictions.
Stan Wawrinka vs Jiri Lehecka
This is the last tournament of Stan Wawrinka’s career. The three-time Grand Slam champion, who won Roland Garros in 2015, announced in May that Basel would be where he retires, and the 41-year-old Swiss goes into his farewell with a lot of emotion but not much form. He’s ranked outside the top 150, has a 8-18 record this year and returned to the tour in Lyon last week, his first ATP event since the US Open, where he beat Martin Landaluce before losing to top seed Flavio Cobolli 6-2, 6-4 in the second round.
Lehecka, 24 and ranked No. 21, is in much better shape. He reached the Japan Open final earlier this month, losing to Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(4), 6-4, and has been one of the more consistent players on the Asian swing. He lost to Tallon Griekspoor in the Brussels quarterfinals last week, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, so he already has some indoor hard-court match play in his legs. He’s 36-20 on the season, with a 4-1 record indoors.
This is a first meeting between the two.
Predictions and best bets
It’s hard to write about Wawrinka without a little sentiment, and the Basel crowd will be firmly behind him for what could be his last match. But the numbers say this should be a fairly comfortable win for Lehecka, whose serve and flat groundstrokes should be a lot for a 41-year-old with a limited tank to deal with indoors.
Wawrinka’s one-handed backhand can still produce a few moments of magic and he has shown he is still competitive this season, even against the top ranked. A win for him gives around 4.50 (+350) odds.
However, I expect Lehecka to be the one in control and win this in two sets.
My bet: Lehecka to win in straight sets.
For fans of Wawrinka, check out the Yonex “Stan The Man” apparel collection that was recently introduced.
